In discussing the future of this country its important to decide on what kind of country we want to be.
There are goals that I think most people can agree on and I discussed some of those yesterday. However there are even more basic choices we have to decide on.
In its most basic form it is do we work individually or collectively?
The individual model wants each of us to be responsible for for our successes and failures and thinks the best Government is no Government. They don't want to be told what to do or conform to what the group decides.
On the other end of that spectrum is the collective mentality. This person thinks the group succeeds or fails together. That individual talents are best used for the good of all and rewards should be shared.
America is generally viewed as a country which honors the individual allowing them to succeed or fail depending on their talents and abilities.
It was one of the things that allowed the country to expand so rapidly and industrialize. Of course there was always support from the Government that favored the "individuals" followed by some progressive reforms that protected the collective.
It would be hard to imagine the country without Social Security, unemployment insurance, veterans benefits, and other social support functions that are designed to help the weakest and poorest among us.
However each of those programs were attacked in their own time as socialism or worse.
Generally the movement has been progressive in direction with things like the minimum wage, holidays, and labor laws won after hard struggles.
To a great extent the battles continue however the people who benefit the most from these progressive programs often oppose new ones.
This is a reaction to the changes in the economy and a certain belief that these progressive programs have hurt our competitive capabilities and led to a worsening of the average workers condition.
(to be continued)
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